Blog Post 2- What Will Teaching In The 21st Century Be Like?

Mr. Dancealot

Every year scientists and teachers come up with new and exciting ways to teach their students. Which is an excellent thing, because as technology advances, our teaching skills need to as well. But one thing that has not changed and never will, is the fact that students have to practice with hands on activities in order for them to learn. We were asked to watch a video called Mr. Dancealot and to answer some questions about it. In the video, Mr. Dancealot is a professor in a college based classroom. The purpose of his class is for the students to learn specific dances and to be more confident when dancing. Throughout the whole semester he stood behind a large podium and science table. He lectured with pictures from a slideshow.  He tried to show the students the dances moves but he stayed behind the table. When the students got up to try and practice it themselves, he told them to sit down, he was trying to teach a dance class. Not once did they get to practice dancing in the class. When it was time to take the final exam, Mr. Dancealot expected them to get up and know each dance but, they knew nothing. This video proves that students learn better by doing and they need practice. The college I am attending, The University of South Alabama, added some hands on courses a few years ago. They also have what is called JagSuccess, where students can go for extra practice and help in any of their courses. Remember, practice makes perfect, if you want to master a skill.

Teaching In the 21st Century 

Technology has impacted society in a big way in the last decade but, even more in the past few years. You can look around at kids today and it seems like they are already totally dependent on their technology, whether it be a phone, iPod/mp3, tablet/ipad ext. Technology is even starting to be introduced into the school systems. In Kevin Roberts video Teaching in the 21st Century, he argues
that teacher can no longer just use paper and pencil. He says that because students can now find information anytime and anywhere, we as teachers "are no longer the main source of knowledge," we

are just a filter. I believe what he is saying, times are changing and we have to change with them. But I do not think we need to get rid of paper and pencil use all together. I think we as teachers still need to teach students, how to use the public library and how to look up a word in a dictionary. I do not think it is a good idea to teach students to be fully dependent on technology. I think the technology should be a reward for good behavior and maybe some educational games here and there, involving the whole class. Roberts made one really good point that stood out to me, he said, students need to be engaged not entertained. Entertainment is only short-lived while, a student who is engaged will have long-term results. So, we as teachers, need to engage our students and to help them learn and grow in todays society.

The Networked Student 

The Network Student by Wendy Drexler is another example of how technology is being applied in the school systems. Drexler talks about connectivism in her video. "Connectivism is a theory that presumes, that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties" (Drexler). With this technology, students can build a learning network and communicate with other students to strengthen the learning process. Students learn what websites are trustworthy. Such as, Google Scholar which, is a simple way to search for scholarly literature. Students can also create a blog and comment on other peoples blogs from around the world to leave their own knowledge and opinion.   So, why do students need a teacher? The teacher helps the students build the network and helps to solve any problems one might have. Teachers are there to make sure the student is communicating properly with other people online and they also help the students stay organized. Do I think this is a good idea? Would I use this in my classroom? I think this is a great learning experience for students but I would not want my student's only source of knowledge coming from this. I would use this technology in my classroom but only for a couple hours. I do not like the idea of students staring at a computer
screen all day. 

Harness You Students' Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis is a teacher at a school in rural south Georgia. She uses all kinds of technology to connect her students to the world. Davis say, that she believes every student can learn but every student can not learn with paper and pencil. She focuses on teaching them how to use new software, wiki, blogs and to learn how to learn. She expects her students to look up a word if they do not know it. She does not teach her students all day everyday. Sometimes, she allows her students to get up and teach the class. I think this is a very effective way of teaching. In my opinion, the fact that she allows her students to teach to class is a great way of learning. It show that the student knows the material taught and they can recite it back to you. In a way it is also hands on learning because the student is being forced to look up unknown words.

Flipping The Classroom

Flipping The Classroom is a fabulous way to encourage students to learn all they possibly can. Flipping the Classroom are prerecorded videos, by the teacher, that are sent home with the students, to start teaching them what they will be learning the next day. With these videos comes a few practice problems and examples to help students have a better understanding of the material. My opinion as a future teacher, I think this is a great way to help students learn and have more time in class to answer questions and practice. With the students already having the basic understanding when they arrive in class, it will save time for practice problems and to be able to cover more material.